Level 1 Fauna Survey of the Gruyere Gold Project Borefields (Harewood 2016)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LIMITED GRUYERE PROJECT EPA REFERRAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENT APPENDIX 5: LEVEL 1 FAUNA SURVEY OF THE GRUYERE GOLD PROJECT BOREFIELDS (HAREWOOD 2016) Gruyere EPA Ref Support Doc Final Rev 1.docx Fauna Assessment (Level 1) Gruyere Borefield Project Gold Road Resources Limited January 2016 Version 3 On behalf of: Gold Road Resources Limited C/- Botanica Consulting PO Box 2027 BOULDER WA 6432 T: 08 9093 0024 F: 08 9093 1381 Prepared by: Greg Harewood Zoologist PO Box 755 BUNBURY WA 6231 M: 0402 141 197 T/F: (08) 9725 0982 E: [email protected] GRUYERE BOREFIELD PROJECT –– GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LTD – FAUNA ASSESSMENT (L1) – JAN 2016 – V3 TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1 2. SCOPE OF WORKS ...............................................................................................1 3. RELEVANT LEGISTALATION ................................................................................2 4. METHODS...............................................................................................................3 4.1 POTENTIAL VETEBRATE FAUNA INVENTORY - DESKTOP SURVEY ............. 3 4.1.1 Database Searches.......................................................................................3 4.1.2 Previous Fauna Surveys in the Area ............................................................3 4.1.3 Existing Publications .....................................................................................5 4.1.4 Fauna of Conservation Significance .............................................................6 4.1.5 Likelihood of Occurrence – Vertebrate Fauna of Conservation Significance7 4.1.6 Taxonomy and Nomenclature.......................................................................8 4.2 INVERTEBRATE FAUNA OF CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE ........................ 8 4.3 SITE SURVEYS.......................................................................................................9 4.3.1 Habitat Assessment ......................................................................................9 4.3.2 Opportunistic Fauna Observations .............................................................10 5. SURVEY CONSTRAINTS.....................................................................................10 6. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................11 6.1 POTENTIAL VERTEBRATE FAUNA INVENTORY.............................................. 11 6.2 INVERTEBRATE FAUNA OF CONSERVATION SIGNIFICANCE ...................... 11 6.3 SITE SURVEYS.....................................................................................................13 6.3.1 Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................13 6.3.2 Opportunistic Fauna Observations .............................................................15 6.4 FAUNA INVENTORY – SUMMARY......................................................................16 GRUYERE BOREFIELD PROJECT –– GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LTD – FAUNA ASSESSMENT (L1) – JAN 2016 – V3 6.4.1 Vertebrate Fauna.........................................................................................16 6.4.2 Vertebrate Fauna of Conservation Significance ......................................... 17 7. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................22 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................24 TABLES TABLE 1: Main Terrestrial Fauna Habitats within the Survey Area. TABLE 2: Summary of Potential Vertebrate Fauna Species TABLE 3: Likelihood of Occurrence – Vertebrate Fauna Species of Conservation Significance FIGURES FIGURE 1: Survey Areas & Surrounds FIGURE 2: Yeo Borefield Area - Air Photo FIGURE 3: Anne Beadell Borefield Area - Air Photo FIGURE 4: Vegetation Communities (Botanica 2015) APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Conservation Categories APPENDIX B: Vertebrate Fauna Recorded or Potentially in Region of Survey Area APPENDIX C: DPaW NatureMap & EPBC Act Database Search Results APPENDIX D: Significant Species Profiles GRUYERE BOREFIELD PROJECT –– GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LTD – FAUNA ASSESSMENT (L1) – JAN 2016 – V3 Acronyms/Abbreviations: BA: Birdlife Australia (Formerly RAOU, Birds Australia). BC Bill: Biodiversity Conservation Bill (2015). WA Government. CALM: Department of Conservation and Land Management (now DPaW), WA Government. CAMBA: China Australia Migratory Bird Agreement 1998. DEC: Department of Environment and Conservation (now DPaW), WA Government. DEH: Department of Environment and Heritage (now DoE), Australian Government. DEP: Department of Environment Protection (now DER), WA Government. DEWHA: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (now DoE), Australian Government. DER: Department of Environment Regulation (formerly DEC, DoE), WA Government. DMP: Department of Mines and Petroleum (formerly DoIR), WA Government. DoE: Department of Environment (now DER/DPaW), WA Government. DoIR: Department of Industry and Resources (now DMP), WA Government. DotE: Department of the Environment (formerly SEWPaC, DWEHA, DEH), Australian Government. DPaW: Department of Parks and Wildlife (formerly DEC, CALM, DoE), WA Government. EP Act: Environmental Protection Act 1986,WA Government. EPA: Environmental Protection Authority, WA Government. EPBC Act: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Australian Government. ha: Hectare (10,000 square metres). IBRA: Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia. IUCN: International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources – commonly known as the World Conservation Union. JAMBA: Japan Australia Migratory Bird Agreement 1981. km: Kilometre (1,000 metres). Page i GRUYERE BOREFIELD PROJECT –– GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LTD – FAUNA ASSESSMENT (L1) – JAN 2016 – V3 OEPA: Office Environmental Protection Authority, WA Government. RAOU: Royal Australia Ornithologist Union. ROKAMBA: Republic of Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement 2007. SEWPaC: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (now DotE, formerly DEH, DEWHA), Australian Government. SRE: Short Range Endemic. SSC: Species Survival Commission, International. WA: Western Australia. WAM: Western Australian Museum, WA Government. WC Act: Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, WA Government. Page ii GRUYERE BOREFIELD PROJECT –– GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LTD – FAUNA ASSESSMENT (L1) – JAN 2016 – V3 SUMMARY This report details the results of a Level 1 fauna assessment of the proposed Gruyere borefields project area being investigated as part of Gold Road Resources Limited’s (GRRs) possible future gold project development in the “Yamarna Belt” tenement areas situated about 160km north-east of Laverton, Western Australia (Figure 1). The borefield (and associated pipeline routes) are comprised of two main areas, one to the west of the main Gruyere Project area (Yeo Borefield) and one to the south east (Anne Beadell Borefield)(Figures 2 & 3). The area surveyed as part of this assessment covers approximately 5,983 ha. The assessment was undertaken for the purposes of delineating and characterising the fauna habitats and faunal assemblages present in the target area. The assessment has included a desktop review and field reconnaissance survey (8 to 10 November 2015) carried out to comply with relevant EPA guidance statements. Previous terrestrial invertebrate surveys undertaken within the Yamarna area indicate that it is possible that potential SREs could occur within the proposed borefield areas, given the proximity of the records acquired to date and the presence of similar habitat types. A list of expected vertebrate fauna species likely to occur in the survey area was compiled from information obtained during the literature review and is presented in Appendix B. Observations made during the field survey and the results of some previous fauna surveys carried out in the general area are summarised in this species listing as are the DPaW NatureMap database search results. With respect to native vertebrate fauna, 28 mammals (including eight bat species), 103 bird, 105 reptile and nine frog species have previously been recorded in the general area, some of which have the potential to occur in or utilise at times, the survey area. The broad scale terrestrial fauna habitats within the survey area presented below are based primarily on landforms identified by Botanica (2015) with further often subtle subdivisions possible using vegetation structure. The extent of the identified broad scale fauna habitats within the survey area are shown in Figure 4 with a summary description of each given below. x Clay-Loam Plains Acacia Forests and Woodlands, Acacia Shrublands, Mallee Open Woodlands and Sparse Mallee Shrublands Total Area = 172 ha (~2.9%. x Closed Depressions Acacia Forests and Woodlands, Casuarina Forests and Woodlands, Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands, Chenopod Shrublands, Samphire Shrublands and Forblands. Total Area = 266 ha (~4.4%) Page iii GRUYERE BOREFIELD PROJECT –– GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LTD – FAUNA ASSESSMENT (L1) – JAN 2016 – V3 x Drainage Depressions Acacia Forests and Woodlands, Acacia Open Woodlands, Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands. Total Area = 163 ha (~2.7%) x Quartz/Rocky Plains Acacia Forests and Woodlands, Casuarina Forests and Woodlands, Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands. Total Area = 335 ha (~5.6%) x Sand Dunes Eucalypt